It’s Monday…and I have done something that I have never done before. I have actually driven my car for 3 consecutive days. Not only that, but this evening I actually drove home on the main highway and parked my car in the driveway for the first time.

It’s a crazy feeling. I had grown so accustomed to things that I couldn’t do, and driving had become one of the leading ones, that the feeling of getting used to driving is beyond incredible. I’ll actually be able to drive myself to work if I have to, or start looking for jobs that are not accessible, or directly accessible, by public transportation.

Three days is a great start. I’ll be planning to drive at least a few more days this week. Who knows, maybe I’ll even have my license by the time summer starts and can reward myself with a well-earned cross-country trip. It may be nice to finally get out of my small hometown and see what the rest of the country is like.

I’m not gonna lie. Just the thought of the opportunity is exciting. I can actually drive out to Colorado and see if it looks like a place I want to live, and if for some reason it isn’t, then I’ll just continue on my way and can maybe get out to Oregon, if I don’t find another place I’d rather live before I get there.

Regardless, it should be a fun and memorable summer. Once it gets here I’ll remember that it literally all began with these three consecutive days and the feelings those days have sparked.

I don’t have to keep myself from everyone anymore. Just knowing that people are still good is a revitalizing feeling. I don’t have to be alone behind this wall. The people who deserve to not be separated from me will be the ones who step up an knock on the door. Greg and Bethany, they knocked first and it’s just great to have company again.

Just because two honest people came into my life doesn’t mean I will be rolling out a “Welcome” mat in front of my wall. For now I am just going to enjoy the fact that I know that I have true friends. I may only see a few of them right now, but it’s the positive things in life that always give you a reason to keep striving. With these two friends, I have all the motivation I need to finish the task at hand.

I've been working frantically through my second and third edits of An Uncharted Life.  The second round of edits were to decide on final verb and adjective choices.  I knew the type of word I wanted to use, but instead of breaking my train of thought, I decided upon writing the book initially that I would pick several words, go back, review and take the time to discern exactly what I wanted to say.

I broke it up into sizable, but completable, chunks each day.  It took a while, but it is such a relief to no longer see red or green or blue anywhere on my book-- all black text now!  I even went to Kinko's today and had a hard copy printed off.  It's pretty cool actually seeing my book on printed paper.  I've only ever seen it on a computer screen. 

Now, knowing I have selected the exact wording of the book, I am re-reading the book from the beginning to make sure that transitions are clean, thoughts are complete and that I have not repeated my points multiple times throughout the book.   That is the only real issue I have come across with writing my book a little bit each day over a 6 month period.  I repeated myself a bit, and now I'm trying to figure out which of the three or four different ways I phrased a thought I want to use, and where happens to be the best place to keep and delete those points.

I'm well more than a third of the way in at this point.  As exhausting as the process has been, and as much as I hate reading my book right now, it is going to feel so amazing to have an absolutely finished copy.

It's pretty crazy to think that I could be heading up to New York to try and sell my book by the end of the month.